Weight warrior vows to crush sodium, drink more water

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Sheri Kangas
  • 1st SOW Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  So here's the deal. I didn't lose any weight at my weight loss support group Monday, but according to my scale at home, I lost two pounds. So what's the bottom line you ask? I lost two pounds this week.
 
I know weight has the ability to fluctuate on a daily basis because I'm obsessed with the darn scale. It's crazy; sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and weigh myself. Then, when I get up two hours later for work, I weigh again. 

Anyway, I digress. Yes, weight does fluctuate daily and one of the reasons is water retention. I have read in various articles that the less water you drink, the more your body holds on to what it has. Salt intake is another reason for water retention. Adults should limit their sodium intake to 2,400 milligrams daily, which is roughly one teaspoon of salt. 

I've upped my water intake considerably (hint: the spicier your food is, the more water you will drink) and am going to start paying more attention to my salt intake. I don't really put salt on my meals since there are so many other spices that can be added to enhance a food's flavors. 

I'm usually diligent when it comes to reading labels on food packages, but I've never paid attention to the sodium content listed. I looked through my cupboards recently and found that many processed foods have exorbitant amounts of sodium. Now I will look a bit closer at those labels. 

So, those are a couple of more small changes I'm going to make. Less salt, more water. Another thing I'm going to work on is paying less attention to the scale and more attention to the way I feel and the way my clothes fit. After all, my jeans were a bit looser this past weekend, and it was a great feeling. 

Motivational Tip: 

Take it slow and be patient. Like I keep telling myself, I didn't gain this extra weight overnight, so I'm not going to lose it overnight. Instead of thinking you are on a diet, change that four-letter word to life. This is life. 

You need to change the way you eat for the rest of your life. If not, the weight you have lost will come back with a vengeance, attaching itself to your hips, stomach, thighs or wherever else it is not invited to be. It will happily stay there until you go on another "diet." 

So, I've decided that I will be happy losing anywhere from one to three pounds per week. I'm not looking at three months down the road and thinking, "I need to lose 15 pounds by then." Instead, I'll just keep telling myself that slow and steady wins the race. If you are trying to lose weight, keep it up and remember you have the rest of your life to eat healthy and make the right choices when it comes to getting rid of those extra pounds. Good luck this week!